D-League team has four picks for a name

May 1, 2008

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What's In A Name?

BighornsThe official state animal of Nevada, the desert Bighorn does not require drinking water during the winter when green vegetation is available. There are no plans to grow plants on the court, so Bighorns would need plenty of water on hand.

EnforcersA fictional team of villains in the Marvel Comic series employed a guy named "Big Man." This team will need a few big men to buckle down on defense.

RangersArmy Rangers are an elite military unit that dates back to the 17th century. They are also a critical part of Nevada's arm of the National Parks system.

RidersThe Reno franchise will not be a team of Isaiah Riders, who went on to be drafted fifth in the NBA Draft after playing at UNLV. His career fell short of expectations, and he is wanted in California on a bench warrant.

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The Bighorns, the Enforcers, the Rangers or the Riders? It's your pick.

Reno's NBA Development League franchise opened up its naming contest Thursday, and the four names are the finalists for the Reno franchise. Voting for the names is open at nbareno.com.

"The more responses, the better because I don't feel, even among these four names, that one feels like a frontrunner," said David Kahn, whose company, Southwest Basketball owns the to-be-named Reno team in addition to D-League teams in Tulsa, Okla., and Albuquerque, N.M. "Throughout this whole process there really hasn't been such a thing as a frontrunner. There's been a lot of good ones and some not so good ones. I think any of the four finalists will be fine, but now I think we need some help."

Voting will continue through May 14 and each person who votes will be invited to the "Meet the Coach" party this summer. A coach has not been named, the hire will be made by June or July. The team will begin play at the Reno Events Center in November.

Bighorns is a throwback to the city's old basketball team which used the name. The original Bighorns played in the Western Basketball Association in 1978-79. The second edition of the Bighorns played in the Continental Basketball Association from 1982-83.

The voice of the Reno team, Dan Gustin, was the radio play-by-play announcer for the Bighorns of the CBA.

Riders is a nod to Northern Nevada's history in transportation -- from the Western settlers to the railroad to Interstate 80, which made interstate travel faster. Pony Express workers were also called riders.

Rangers and Enforcers are more sports-oriented names, Kahn said.

But Rangers have a history in Nevada. In 1910 the Nevada Rangers provided security at the "Fight of the Century" between Jack Johnson and James Jeffries in downtown Reno, according to the book, "The Fight of the Century."

"It's very hard to pick a name for all of Reno and especially Northern Nevada because so much of the region's history is tied to either silver or railroads or the Comstock load, things that occurred many years ago," Kahn said. "Some of them don't lend themselves to a name that could be graced with a wonderful logo."

The Reno franchise is a part of a two-team expansion for the D-League, the other team was in Erie, Pa., which stretches the league to 16 teams.

The D-League serves as a minor league system for the NBA, and all teams have at least one affiliation with a local team. Reno's affiliation has yet to be announced, but the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors are the nearest teams to Northern Nevada.